Apparatus for cleaning windshields



March 25, 1924. 1,488,121

C. W. JOHNSON APPARATUS FOR CLEANING WINDSHIELDS Filed June 16. 1921 l 1246 jg Patented Mar. 25, 1924.

CHESTER W. JOHNSON, F LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO WALTER A. HOPKINS, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND ONE-FOURTH TO CHAR/1.138 E. 'I'ILTON', 0F TILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING wmnsmnnns.

Application filed June 16, 1921. Serial No. 478,113.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Onns'rnn W. JOHNSON,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Lexington, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in A paratus for Cleaning Windshields; and I 0 ereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

1 such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to apparatus for cleaning wind-shields and more particuw larly to apparatus of this sort which is simple and compact in its construction and isadapted to clean the wind-shield with a minimum of eifort on the part of the operator.

A variety of devices for cleaning windshields have been developed ranging from the simple manually operated scraper member to complicated apparatus intended to continuously operate a scraper either through apositive drive from the suction of the motor or in some other manner. simple form of manually operated cleaning device obviously requires the operator to reach forward to the wind-shield in order to manipulate it, thus interfering with the operation of the car, while the more complicated automatic devices are expensive to make and are generally faulty in their operation and for one reason or another are universally imperfect in their operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and conveniently operable wind-shield cleaner, which is inexpensive to make and which may be manipulated to afford clear vision when desired with a minimum of effort and without distractin the attention of the operator from the drlving of the vehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this type which will not only remove moisture from the surface of the glass but will in addition forcibly scrape ofi' and remove snow, ice and other solid matter which may lodge on the windshield.

With these objects in view the several features of the invention consist in certain novel features of construction, combinations and The arran ements of parts hereinafter described and c aimed, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the following description. In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the improved apparatus applied to a wind-shield; Fig. 2 is a plan view partly in section of the same apparatus applied to the windsh1eld; Fig. 3 is a section of the apparatus taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 IS a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. The apparatus shown in the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises an osc llating arm 10 carrying a scraper member 12 upon its outer end which is moved n a path across the wind-shield, as shown n dot and dash lines in Fig. 1. The arm 10 is secured at its opposite end to a shaft 14 whlch may extend through the u per frame 16 of the wind-shield, as indicated in Fig. 3, the arm being received in a recess 18 formed in the shaft and adjustably secured in place by a set screw 20. The shaft 14 is provided at its opposite end with a pinion 22 which is retained in place by an arm 24 secured to a bracket 26, the arm 24 and the bracket 26 each having hubs 28 and 29 to form bearings for the shaft 14. The driving pinion 22 meshes with a rack 30 formed upon, one end of a stem 32 which is connected with a piston or plunger 34 sliding within a cylinder 36. The piston 34 is normally retained at the left hand side of the cylinder to hold the scraper member in an inoperative position at the top of the wind-shield, as indicated in Flg. 1. To this end a light coiled spring 38 is received within the cylinder and interposed between the right hand end of the cylinder and the piston 34, the latter being made hollow with an elongated skirt to substantially enclose the spring, as indicatedin Fig. 2. The operation of the piston to secure the desired movement of the scraper member is accomplished in a simple and eflicient manner by air pressure under the control of the operator. To this end a nipple 40 is formed upon the cylinder head 42 and is connected with an air tight flexible tubing 44 of rubber or similar material which ma extend to the steering wheel 46, this flexible tubing being provided at its opposite end adjacent the steering wheel with a flexible hand buib 48. By a quick com ression of the bulb in a manner .Which wi be obviousto those skilled in the art, a suflicient air pressure .is' created to move the piston 34 and 1n turn the scraper member through the rack and pinion and oscillatory arm 10. When the pressure upon the bulb is released the scra er member is immediately returned tot e initial position shown in Fi 1 by the s ring 38. In order to permit thls return of t e piston 34 under the action of the spring, the right hand end of the cylinder is provided with openings for the entrance of the air. To prevent collapsing of the flexible bullr48 the latter is rovided with the usual ball 'check valve, in icated generally at 52. With this construction it will be obvious that the o erator may cause the actuation of the windshield scra er whenever desired with a minimum of efl brt and without diverting his attention from the operation of the caras the bulb may be compressed without removing either hand entirely from the steering wheel. The cylinder 36, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2, is connected directly to the bracket 26 which is formed as a late secured to the upper edge 16 of the win -shield by threaded fastening members 54 and 55. The movement of the scraper member, due to the compression of the bulb. 48, may be conveniently limited throu h the provision of a stop lug 60 extending rom the bracket 26, as shown in Fig. 1, and adapted to engage with the end of the rack 30 to limit the advancing movement of the latter.

It is frequently desirable to adjust the effective movement of the scraper member especially where it is not necessary to move this member through an arc of substantially- 180. This range of movement may be very easily efiected with the present construction by turning the rack 30 about the axis of the connected cylinder and stem until the teeth of the rack are disengaged from the teeth of the intermeshing pimon 22, the width of the pinion teeth and the depth of engagement of the pinion and rack teeth being designed to permit such a disengagement. With the teeth of the rack and pinion disengaged from one another,

the scraper arm 10 may be moved into any desired angular position and the rack then turned back to initial position to reengage the teeth. With such an arrangement the angular position of the scraper member may be adjusted as desired with respect to the position of the operating piston 34 and thus the scraper member may be moved through a comparatively small are immediately in front of the driver, if so desired. Such a change in the range of movement of the scraper member may be particularly advantageous in the event that the person operating the car does not desire to exert suffisimilar characteristics 'cient pressure to actuate the scraper through the entire possible range of movement.

According to the resent, invention the scraper member is a apted not onl to remove moisture from'the glass but in .addition to actually scrape off and dislod e solid particles such as snow, ice or dirt. 0 this end, the scraper member consists of a thin brass blade 60 arranged at an an le to the surface of the wind-shield, as in icated in Fig. 4, so that upon the advancing movement of the scraper member these solid particles are actually sheared from the glass. This metal .blade is conveniently received within a stationary member 62, which, in turn, is pivoted at 64 within a holder 66 secured to the outer end of the arm 10, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 4, the pivoted support for the blade permitting the latter to adjust itself automatically to slight differences in the inclination of the wind-shield glass. The pressure of the scraper member upon the surface of the glass may be conveniently maintained by the arm 10, which is of resilient material. With the scraper member made in this manner the advancing movement is effected to remove moisture and solid particles from the glass and upon the return movement there 1s insuflicient friction between the scraper member and the glass to retard or impede in any manner the return member b the spring 38.

From t e foregoing description it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present construction forms not only an a paratus which may be controlled and irected by the o erator with a minimum oi" effort but in a dition an apparatus which is simple and inexpensive to construct and may be applied to any wind-shield without necessitating any change-in the construction of the wind-shield itself. It will in addition be obvious to those skilled in the art that although the illustrated embodiment of the invention discloses a hand bulb for operating the scraper nevertheless some other form of pressure creating mechanism might be employed, as for example, a belllows or bulb actuated by the hand of foot of the operator.

Furthermore the scraper member may consist of brass, aluminum, or metals having which will not scratch the glass, or, if so desired, the scraper member may be made in the usual manner of rubber, or similar material.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, it will be understood that this construction and arran ement is not essential except so far as s ecided in the be change or modified claims, and may from the broader features without departing of the invention.

of the scraper The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. In a cleaner for wind-shields and the like, a fluid pressure operated means, a cleaning mechanismi connected thereto, a manually operated pump in open communication with said fluid pressure operated means to induce pressure in said fluid pressure operated means.

2. In a wind-shield cleaner, a fluid operated mechanism mounted on the wind-shield, a cleaning mechanism connected thereto and actuated thereby, manually operated means for creating pressure in said fluid operated mechanism to impart movement in one direction to the cleaning mechanism, and yielding pressure means associated with said fluid pressure operated mechanism to move the cleaning mechanism in the opposite direction.

3. An apparatus for cleaing wind-shields comprising a bracket adapted for attachment to the upper portion of the windshield, a shaft journaled in the bracket, an oscillatory arm adjustably connected to one end of the shaft, a scraper member pivoted upon the outer free end of the arm, a cylinder connected to the bracket, a piston sliding within the cylinder, a rack connected directly to the piston, a pinion mounted upon the shaft and meshing with the rack, the rack and pinion being so designed that the rack may be rotated to disengage the rack and pinion teeth and permit rotative adjustment of the pinion relative to the rack, and means for operating the piston to move the scraper member across the glass.

4. In a wind-shield cleaner, a fluid pressure operated mechanism mounted on the wind-shield, a cleaning mechanism connected thereto and actuated thereby, a manually operated pump for supplying fluid pressure to said fluid pressure operated mechanism, said pump being spaced from and in communication with said last named mechanism, the fluid pressure imparting movement in one direction to the cleaning mechanism, and yielding pressure means associated with the fluid pressure operated mechanism to move the cleaning mechanism in the other direction.

CHESTER W. JOHNSON. 

